The invention relates to a connector and, more particularly, to a low insertion force connector having a female socket and a male plug with a pin terminal.
To reduce the insertion force of a male plug in a female socket in conventional connectors, the male plug is provided with a pin terminal having a flat or rounded tip. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,890 discloses a pin terminal with a tip wherein two mutually opposing sides of the tip have a curved surface. One side of the tip has a curved surface with a smaller radius than an opposite side of the tip. Upon insertion of the pin terminal into a female socket having opposing contact blades, the contact blades are sequentially deflected to different degrees as a function of the insertion depth of the tip to reduce the overall insertion force. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,278 discloses a male plug with a pin terminal having a tip wherein two mutually opposing sides of the tip have slanted surfaces extending downward at a similar angle. The slanted surfaces are asymmetrical with respect to a center axis of the pin terminal so that the insertion force of the pin terminal is a function of insertion depth.
It is an object of the invention to provide a connector that despite a simple construction and ease of handling exhibits a favourable low insertion force. This and other objects are achieved by a low insertion force connector having a female socket and a male plug. The female socket has a contact element with first and second adjacent contact blades. The male plug has a pin terminal with a first side and a second side. The first side has a first receiving zone adjacent to a second receiving zone. The first receiving zone is offset from the second receiving zone such that deflection of the first contact blade by the first receiving zone differs from the deflection of the second contact blade by the second receiving zone when the pin terminal is mated with the contact element.